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DOJ charges alleged Kaseya ransomware hacker tied to REvil group
Officials also seized $6 million from another alleged member of the collective.
Tesla worked with the FBI to block a million dollar ransomware attack
Tesla avoided a ransomware attack with the help of an honest employee and the FBI.
Iowa asked researchers to break into a courthouse, then it arrested them
Ransomware attacks have cost cities like Atlanta and Baltimore millions of dollars and made it clear that state and municipal governments need to protect themselves against cyberthreats. With that in mind, the state of Iowa hired cybersecurity firm Coalfire to conduct a penetration test. The state asked the company to try to break into servers and physical buildings to see if it could gain access to sensitive data or equipment. When two Coalfire employees successfully broke into one Iowa courthouse, they were arrested, and the charges have not yet been dropped.
Former Mt. Gox CEO arrested in Japan over missing bitcoin
It's been months since Tokyo police revealed their belief that the Mt. Gox bitcoin heist was an inside job, and tonight they arrested its former CEO, Mark Karpeles. Some 650,000 bitcoin still remain unaccounted for since the exchange shut down in 2014, which Karpeles blamed on a computer flaw. According to the Wall Street Journal and The Japan News, police in Japan believe Karpeles manipulated the balances of the accounts using it to counter orders from customers and that some of the missing bitcoin may have never existed at all.
The last Pirate Bay founder has finally been caught and arrested
It was only a matter of time. The last of The Pirate Bay's three co-founders was arrested yesterday on the border between Laos and Thailand, signalling the end of a drawn-out manhunt for the site's infamous creators. Fredrik Neij's apprehension follows an arrest in June for fellow co-founder Peter Sunde, as well as a three-and-a-half year prison sentence handed down to compatriot Gottfrid Warg last month.
Iran throws tech bloggers in prison for working with 'enemy media'
Most countries with internet access see the web as a tool for communication. But in Iran? It's a threat. The country has made a habit of censoring social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram -- lifting its ban only for odd "technical failures." Now the country seems to be arresting local tech bloggers. The state is accusing eight bloggers from the Iranian site Narenji (now offline) of having ties to "enemy media" and plotting a "'soft overthrow' of the Iranian regime." Specifically, the group is accused of receiving funding from British intelligence and conducting espionage for BBC Persian. According to Mashable, the team is facing sentences between 18 months and 11 years in prison, or 36 years between them all.
Report: Anti-games Sen. Leland Yee arrested on bribery, corruption charges
California State Senator Leland Yee, noted anti-video games official, was arrested this morning on charges of bribery and corruption, SF Weekly reported. The FBI conducted a raid of San Francisco's Chinatown district, and KCRA reported that agents took "computers and other documents" from Yee's office in the state capitol. Yee previously urged the Supreme Court to review the violent games bill AB-1179 his office authored in 2005, which failed at the Circuit Court level before being pushed through by then-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Supreme Court upheld the lower courts' ruling, deeming the law a violation of First Amendment rights. Yee responded to the decision, declaring that it "put the interests of corporate America before the interests of our children" and that the games industry continued to profit "at the expense of our kids' mental health and the safety of our community." The news of Yee's arrest brings to mind anti-violent games attorney Jack Thompson's disbarment by the state of Florida in September 2008. Thompson's body of work included multiple failed Utah games bills. [Image: Leland Yee]
Jailed ARMA devs thank fans and friends for support in handwritten note
The Bohemia Interactive developers being detained in Greece sent a handwritten note to fans and friends expressing thanks for words of encouragement and the knowledge that they are "not forgotten." The note, sent last week, is now online at HelpIvanMartin.org.Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar were arrested after being accused of spying on Greek military installations on the island of Lemnos. They've since spent 81 days in jail, with the Czech president recently asking the Greek president to treat their case with "special care."In the note, the Czech devs say they are being treated well, and that they are doing their best "to stay optimistic and use this time well." They go on to thank the 14,000+ signatories of the petition created to show support for the detained pair.We have a full version of the note in text after the break.
Top LulzSec members arrested, group leader reportedly acted as informant
The LulzSec hacking group may have officially called it quits last June, but that doesn't mean it was able to escape the eye of law enforcement. As Fox News reports, today saw three group members arrested and two more charged with conspiracy -- a move that one FBI official described as "chopping off the head of LulzSec." What's more, it's reported that group leader "Sabu," now identified as 28-year-old Hector Xavier Monsegur, was acting as an informant for the FBI since he was first caught and secretly arrested in June of last year (around the time the group disbanded). Court documents unsealed today also show that Monsegur has pleaded guilty to carrying out attacks on companies like MasterCard and PayPal, and that he's been charged with 12 criminal counts of conspiracy. The full indictments against the group's members can be found at the Gizmodo link below, and the FBI's press release can be found after the break.
Former Olympus chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa comes down from the mount, into police custody
If you've been following the latest camera industry accounting scandal, then you're probably well aware that all is not well at Olympus. The Japanese company took its latest blow today when former chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa was arrested in Tokyo on suspicion of having falsified financial statements. The Tokyo prosecutor's office released a statement saying that two other former execs were also brought into police custody, including Hisashi Mori, a former executive vice president, and Hideo Yamada, a former auditor. Olympus is also faced with the possibility of being delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange -- the decision has been deferred awaiting further evidence. So what does all this mean for the scandal-ridden camera maker's position in the industry? Little, perhaps, from a consumer perspective, considering that Olympus has continued to announce and ship new products, including the well-received EM-5. The fate of its former executives, however, is less auspicious.
12 people charged in iTunes royalty fraud
I guess with all of the money flowing around iTunes, sooner or later someone would have to try to steal some of it. Twelve people have been charged in the UK with basically laundering money through iTunes -- they were allegedly uploading their own tracks onto the music sales service, then buying those same tracks with stolen credit card numbers. The fraudsters nabbed over $300,000 worth of royalties in just a four month period between September 2008 and January 2009. The Register doesn't note how the 12 (who come from a surprising number of various jobs and backgrounds) came up with this idea, or how they got caught, although there was an investigation underway by the FBI. iTunes wasn't the only service defrauded -- Amazon was reportedly used for some of the transactions as well. The suspects are scheduled to appear on bail next month, and I'm sure both Apple and Amazon have taken steps to make sure this doesn't happen again. Even so, out of all of the millions if not billions of dollars running through iTunes, if this $300,000 is all of the theft they need to worry about, Apple's doing pretty well anyway. [via MDN]
AT&T hacker's home raided, drugs found, dude detained (update)
Man, one day you have the whole world's ear to talk about slack network security, and the next you're in the joint. Andrew Auernheimer, Goatse Security's hacker-in-chief and a key player in the unearthing of a major security flaw exposing iPads surfing AT&T's airwaves, is today facing felony charges for possession of a variety of potent drugs. That wouldn't be such intriguing news by itself, but the discovery was made by local law enforcers who were in the process of executing an FBI search warrant. Hey, wasn't the FBI going to look into this security breach? Yes indeedy. While nobody is yet willing to identify the reasons behind this warrant, it's not illogical to surmise that Andrew's crew and their online exploits were the cause for the raid. So there you have it folks, it's the first bit of advice any publicist will give you: if you're gonna step out into the glaring light of public life, you'd better clean out your closet first. Update: Before y'all get in an uproar about "white hacker this" and "Police State that," let's keep in mind that this Andrew Auernheimer character (a.k.a. "Weev") is one unsavory dude (not to mention a raving anti-Semite): check out this New York Times piece on Internet Trolls if you don't believe us. After all, it's not really a stretch that law enforcement might be after someone who's in possession of ecstasy, cocaine, LSD, and various other pharmaceuticals.
Man arrested for assaulting girl he met in World of Warcraft
Here's an unfortunate World of Warcraft mention in the news: a man has been arrested and charged with all sorts of terrible things for having a relationship with a 14-year-old girl that he originally met in Azeroth. Daniel Joseph Czelusniak is 23 and from North Royalton, Ohio, and is being held by Pennsylvania State Police after having a relationship with the girl last year, meeting at a hotel and her house. He originally met her four years ago (when she was 10 but apparently claimed she was 14) while they were both playing World of Warcraft.Of course, this is hardly the game's fault: parents of young children need to closely supervise their activity online while they're doing anything, be it browsing the Internet or fighting dragons in Northrend. WoW itself is rated T by the ESRB, which means no children under the age of 13 should really be playing it without parental supervision anyway, and the added online component of the game should be even more of a red flag for anyone overseeing younger children. This is a great game (and you couldn't find a nicer community of people who play it), but there are the same dangers in this environment as anywhere else your child might go online.
Teen arrested for making suicide threat to a GM
After a 17-year-old in Fairfield, Ohio told a GM "he was suicidal and the game was the only thing he had to live for," the Blizzard rep called 911, and the kid was apparently arrested, according to the Middletown Journal. We've seen this before -- Blizzard won't put up with suicide threats -- but as far as I know, this is the first we've heard of an arrest coming about because of it. Apparently the charge is a first degree misdemeanor, and though the kid was released to his father, he's got a court date to face next week.The dumbest part? The kid wasn't even suicidal -- he told officers when questioned that it was a joke "to try and get what he wanted for the game." We doubt this will lead to anything big (we'd put the kid in community service and give him a slap on the wrist -- he's probably scared enough after being handcuffed and put in a patrol car), but Blizzard's policy is exactly right on this one, if you ask us. If the threat is real, this could prevent a tragedy, and if it's just some kid messing around to try and get his banned account back, he might learn a little lesson in the process.
Mischievous teen arrested for turning camera into taser
Regardless of what the UN / Taser thinks, the fuzz around Clinton, Connecticut aren't too fond of taser-like weapons being in the hands of teenagers. Case in point: a 14-year old with a certain knack for wandering around the intarwebz and filling his brain with all sorts of hacktastic methodologies managed to stumble upon directions (what, these?) for transforming a vanilla disposable camera into something "capable of zapping people with an electrical charge." School Resource Officer Kyle Strunjo even said that the improvised weapon was "potentially capable of a 600-volt shock," though it wasn't actually used on anyone before it got swiped by the boys in blue. Chin up kid, you've got a future waiting for you yet.[Image courtesy of DIYLive, thanks Ninad]
GPS-equipped spy squirrels 'arrested' by Iranians
Talk about getting into some hot water. Reportedly, some 14 implike squirrels were recently "arrested by Iranian authorities for espionage," as the critters were apparently found to have various amounts of "spy gear from foreign agencies" on (er, in) their bodies. Some reports even mention that the animals were sporting embedded GPS sensors, but due to the high level of secrecy surrounding the capture, things are still a bit foggy. Nevertheless, Iran has apparently claimed that the "rodents were being used by Western powers in an attempt to undermine the Islamic Republic," and while it doesn't seem that anyone is really aware of the squirrels' fates, it looks like sending in the animals to do a human's dirty work isn't as effective as it once was.[Via DailyWireless, image courtesy of UMT]
Long Beach cops use Segway to nab thieves
We certainly can't say that we'd voluntarily place ourselves on a Segway in order to patrol Long Beach, but officer Jose Miguez managed to utilize the breakneck (ahem) speed available on the two-wheeled Personal Transporter to arrest a horrifically embarrassed 13-year old carjacker. Notably, the Segway was no match for the Mercedes-Benz's engine at first, but after the obviously unlicensed driver and his partners in crime leaped from the car just before it slammed into a utility pole, their worn legs were no match for the potent battery-powered engine. Sure, it doesn't sound like the most exciting police chase ever witnessed or anything, but it's not everyday you see a Segway extending the long arm of the law.[Via Wired]
Armed cops burst into home to neutralize... Lara Croft mannequin?
Considering just how chaotic a police scanner can become when the crime lords decide to hit the streets, we can't fault the boys in blue for showing up at the wrong address or completely missing a shoplifter with a projector in his shorts, but this one's just absurd. Apparently, a Manchester man had his home invaded by squads of armed police after a pistol-wielding Lara Croft mannequin served as cause for concern. The officials mistook the ominous silhouette for an actual gunman, and took it upon themselves to rush in and attempt to save the day. Interestingly, the homeowner was actually arrested for "suspected firearms offense," but he's currently speaking to lawyers about "a possible claim for wrongful arrest." Man, publicly humiliating yourself and begging for a lawsuit -- now that's a full day's work.[Thanks, Dan G.]
GameLife host arrested for VT-style threat
Andrew Rosenblum, the host of the video game show GameLife, which previously had some content streamed by MTV's online service Overdrive, has been arrested by Boston police for allegedly sending an e-mail to an ex-girlfriend threatening to kill her. According to the Boston Herald, Rosenblum wrote in the e-mail, "(I)'m gonna (expletive) bring a gun to your school and kill you and K (another female student) and everybody you love. It's gonna be VT all over again ... Seriously I'm just that demented ... killing people can change people's lives forever. (T)he best is in the end when I pull the trigger on myself, too."Rosenblum, a part-time student at Boston University, wrote the letter hours after the VT shooting where over 30 people died. He was arrested at 3:15 AM yesterday morning after police received a 911 call from a girl who went on three dates with Rosenblum and then dumped him. She called police because on the evening of the Virginia Tech killing she received the threatening emails from Rosenblum which she printed. Needham police say they take the threats as "very serious."Right about now is probably the worst possible time for anything video game related being tied into a Google search for Virginia Tech massacre. It doesn't help that the Boston Herald in this morning's edition incorrectly said Rosenblum's show is currently being streamed by MTV's Overdrive, essentially tying video games, a source of pop culture and a national tragedy all in one neat little package for the mainstream news. This is pure news chum for the network sharks looking to fill 24/7 news coverage of anything VT related.Update: MTV contacted Joystiq to let us know they do not own GameLife, nor did they produce it, they merely provided the means to distribute some content. An MTV spokesperson said, "Gamelife's Andrew Rosenblum contributed 2 review segments last year to the MTV.com show, The G-Hole, which is actually hosted by Blair Herter. MTV does not own Gamelife nor does MTV have a video game show entitled Gamelife. In addition, Andrew Rosenblum has never hosted a show for MTV. Gamelife is a completely separate entity from MTV."
Geek Squad technician arrested for invading customer's shower
Sure, it's easy (and sadistically enjoyable) to bust on Best Buy, especially when it considers frugal shoppers "devils" and shoos away loyal customers holding down the fort for a PS3, but the latest knock against the retailer will be even tougher to shake. While it's no surprise that BB cashiers aren't the easiest to deal with when bringing back demolished goods, a pair of sisters also realized major holes in the company's personality screening process over at Geek Squad. Reportedly, a hired technician actually set up a cameraphone to record one of the siblings whilst she was taking a shower, but obviously wasn't sly enough to hide the "blinking red record light" from view. Subsequently, the violated duo supposedly ganked the internal flash card, made haste for a Verizon store to confirm the contents, and of course, phoned up the boys in blue to come take care of business. Needless to say, the shady criminal is now facing "two counts of invasion of privacy and one count of child molestation," but apparently it's still not a crime to charge clueless customers outrageous rates to tackle the simplest of tasks. Sheesh, where's the justice?[Via Digg]
